ByJiangFeifei
Morethan100ChineseandAfricanministerialofficialscametoBeijingtoattendtheCoordinators’MeetingoftheImplementationoftheFollow-upActionsoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC)JohannesburgSummitinlateJuly.Theirmainobjectivewastoevaluate,facilitateandreviewtheimplementationoftheagreementsreachedduringtheFOCACJohannesburgSummitlatelastyear,throughmultilateralandbilateralcooperation.
ThemeetingreaffirmedthatitstoppriorityremainspromotingChina-Africaindustrialconnectionandcooperationinthefieldofproductioncapacity.China-Africaproductioncapacitycooperationisinlinewithandsupportsthecontinent’sindustrializationprocess,andgiventhehighdegreeofcomplementaritybetweenChinaandAfricainthisarea,theircooperationprospectsarepromising.Tothisend,ChinaandAfricancountriesagreedtoimplementthe10majorChina-AfricacooperationplansandtheFOCACJohannesburgActionPlan(2016-18)inanorderlyandeffectivemanner.
Accordingtothecurrentsituation,China-Africaeconomicandtradecooperationisexpectedtomoveawayfrom“commodityexports”andfocusmoreon“capitalexports.”Afteradecadeofrapiddevelopment,China-Africatradehasseen,forthefirsttime,adeclinein2015,withatradevolumeof$179billion,down19.34percentfrom2014.Overthesameperiod,China’simportsfromAfricancountriesamountedto$70.366billion,down39.24percent.China’sdecreaseddemandforrawmaterialsandcommoditiessuchasoilandnaturalgasimpliesthatthefocusofChina-Africatradecooperationshouldbeupgradedfrom“commodityexports”tothemoreadvancedstageof“capitalexports.”Similarly,China-Africatraderelationshipshouldbeexpandedtoincludeindustrialcooperationandtechnologytransfer.
BecauseofthespecificexternaltradestructureofmanyAfricancountries,improvingtheirproductioncapacityshouldremainthepriorityoftheircooperationwithChina.ManyAfricancountries’exportcommoditystructureishighlyconcentratedonprimaryproductssuchascrudeoil,mineralresourcesandagriculturalproducts.Thisreflectsaseverelackofmanufacturingandproductioncapacity,whichhamperstheirindustrializationandeconomicdevelopment.Thus,thesecountriesareeagertostrengthenandexpandtheirindustrialbase,inordertoexportnotonlylowvalue-addedprimarycommodities,butalsodiversifiedhighvalue-addedproducts.
Indeed,intermsofresourcesandmarkets,ChinaandAfricancountriescomplementeachother.Chinaexportsmanufacturedgoodssuchasmachinery,electronicproductsandconsumergoodstoAfricancountries.Whenitcomestoindustrialdevelopment,theircomplementarityalsoextendstoindustrialcapitalcooperation.TherapidgrowthanddevelopmentofChina-Africatradecooperationhasestablishedafriendlyrelationshipcharacterizedbyprinciplesof“win-wincooperation”and“commondevelopment.”
Ononehand,AfricancountriesarekeenonattractingChinesedirectinvestmenttoboosttheirindustrialdevelopment.Ontheotherhand,ChinarespectsAfricancountries’nationalsovereignty,understandstheirspecificsituationandneeds,andencouragesChinesecompanieswithstrongproductioncapacitytoinvestonthecontinent.Bothsideshavegoodcooperationprospectsinthefieldsofdeep-processedproducts,equipmentmanufacturing,electronicinformationsystem,foodandlightindustrialproducts.
Basedontheaboveanalysis,China-Africacooperationshouldfocusonthefollowingaspectsofindustrialproductioncapacity:
First,weshouldcontinuetopromoteChina-Africaeconomicandtradecooperationzones.ChinahasestablishedeconomicandtradecooperationzonesinEgypt,Ethiopia,NigeriaandZambia,andhasbeenbuildingvarioustypesofindustrialparksandspecialeconomiczonesinseveralotherAfricancountries.Chinashouldensurethezonesactastradingplatformsbetweenthecountries,furtherimprovethepoliciesrelatedtooverseascooperationzones,andincreasesupporttozonesthatfocusonindustrialproductioncooperation.Chinesestate-ownedenterprisesshouldbringalongprivatepartners,andbigcompaniesshouldbringalongsmallones,withthegoalofestablishinganindustrialclusterfeaturingadistinctiveandcompleteindustrialchaintopromotetheestablishmentofdeepprocessingandmanufacturingindustriesinAfricancountries.
BankofChina’sZambiaBranch.FinancialinstitutionsareimportantforproductioncapacitycooperationbetweenChinaandAfricancountries
Second,weneedtohelpChinesecompaniesenhancetheirtransnationaloperations.TheChineseGovernmentshouldprovideguidanceandsupporttoChinesecompaniesgoingabroadtoconductinternationalcooperationonproductioncapacitywithAfricanpartners.Informationservice,policyconsulting,andprofessionaltrainingshouldbeprovidedtothesecompanies.Effectivesystemsofplanningandmanagementshouldbesetuptohelpthemidentifypartnersandachievetheircooperationprojectssmoothly.Moreconsultingservicesshouldbeprovidedrelatedtoissuesoffeasibility,tradefrictions,investmentdisputesprevention,andcreditriskassessment.More“modelprojects”shouldbeputinplacetoserveasexamplesintheareaofproductioncapacitycooperation.
Third,weneedtoattachmoreimportancetointellectualpropertyprotection.Inrecentyears,Chinesecompaniesgoingabroadhavehadtodealwithanincreasingnumberofintellectualpropertydisputes,mostofwhichreflecttheirlackofexperienceinprotectingtheirownrights.Duringtheprocessofgoingglobal,Chinesecompaniesshouldpayattentiontothisissueandensuretheirhi-techproductsarewellprotected.RelevantgovernmentdepartmentsshouldworktogethertohelpChinesecompaniesproperlymanagetheirintellectualpropertyrights,ensurepatentsandtrademarksareadequatelyregisteredwiththeappropriateorganizations,andnurturelegalprofessionals.CA
(TheauthorisanassistantresearchfellowattheChineseAcademyofInternationalTradeandEconomicCooperationundertheMinistryofCommerce)